Building-Income

On the previous New Year’s Eve, I wrote a post (How Many Books Did You Read This Year?) that detailed the number of books I read (30) in 2017. This was in follow-up to an earlier post, You Are What You Read. Personally, the latter article is one of my favorites and in it I shared my personal reading plan.

With both of those articles in my mind, I started 2018 fresh and set a reading goal for myself. I would read 52 books over the year. For those terrible with math or a calendar, that’s one book a week.

When most people learn that I formerly was a police officer, they raise their eyebrows and will usually say something like, “Really? Why would you quit?”

To most, the idea of being a police officer has an exotic feel to it. It’s because they have envisioned the Hollywood cliché of law enforcement – heroic exploits of men and women in a daily struggle against crime and corruption. While there are some of those moments on the street, that’s not what happens behind the scenes within the department. Most of the stuff that happens is boring, day-to-day decisions just like you have at your job.

Who do I want to work with? Am I correctly filling out this new paperwork?What educational path should I pursue for my career?Where should I go to lunch?

Most of that’s not interesting to share.

However, why I got into law enforcement, what I learned about it and personal finance, and why I eventually left are things I believe are worth sharing.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about a word that I believe we avoid to describe our actions - immature.

The word makes many of us feel bad when we see it or hear it applied to our behavior. We fought so hard against it when we were young. We told our parents we were mature and ready to go out and make our own way. There's no way that word could still be applied to us as adults, right?

If you were like me as a teenager, then you saw your parents as essentially fools. They had no idea what was going on in the real world while they were hiding inside their own home.

I’m going to rant against some of those in the financial services industry.

You see, I’m a commercial real estate broker who loves the product he represents. My clients can see and hear my enthusiasm when we talk about their needs, whether it be buying, selling, developing or leasing.

A lot of my excitement stems from the fact that I own real estate. I own various types of commercial property. From small retail strip centers, a couple office buildings, a ground leased property and even a couple residential rentals. I love real estate.

It’s one of the reasons I started Building-Income. I wanted to share my excitement for the product. I’m always looking to buy another piece of property. It’s how I’m going to secure my retirement and leave a legacy for my family.

It’s one of the best investment vehicles out there and I wish everyone could feel the excitement I do.

However, there are some in my industry who don’t feel the same way. They take their commissions and run. They buy anything but real estate. If they invest in anything, it’s the stock market or some other get rich quick scheme.

Now, I’m not against the stock market or investing in a business. I’ve invested in both. It’s just that I believe a real estate broker should practice what they preach and put their money where their mouth is.

Earlier this year, I wrote the post You Are What You Read in which I discussed the well-documented argument that successful people read

I also talked about my reading plan: For every book I read for pleasure, I will read one book for education.

Since today is New Year’s Eve, I thought I’d share my reading list for the past year and what I learned about myself. Before I do that, though, here’s some additional information I found concerning the value of reading.

Recently, we were having dinner with my friend, Keith. He had returned the day before from China where he had spent the previous three weeks training a group how to use a new piece of industrial equipment. Keith works for an aluminum casting system manufacturer and he travels the world teaching people how to use the equipment.

Whenever he returns from his journeys, he often has tales of something exotic he’s experienced, tasted or observed. I’m often enthralled by his stories.

Keith, however, doesn’t realize he’s leading an interesting life. Quite frankly, he finds it rather normal. He’s traveled the globe several times now. He’s been to Russia, China, Korea, Dubai, India, etc. He’s been throughout the U.S. Keith can share tales of local customs that leave will you shaking your head in wonderment.

My Latest Book!

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